James Forsyth James Forsyth

Cameron’s first EU referendum battle: shutting up his own MPs

Keeping the Tories together after an EU referendum was once seen as a ‘good’ problem for the party. Not any more...

issue 20 February 2016

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On the day that David Cameron delivered his Bloomberg speech, the 2013 address in which he committed himself to a referendum on Britain’s EU membership, I asked a close ally of his how he would avoid splitting the Tory party over the issue, given that even quiet ‘outers’ might feel obliged to vote to leave.

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